Illuminated advertising device



K. M. WILHELM ILLUMINATED ADVERTISING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 20, 1929 .Vnuenfor: fir] flax MIZZdZw May 24, 1932..

1 4 2% l p a 8 May 24, 1932.

K. M. WILHELM 1,359,813 ILLUMINA'IED ADVERTISING DEVICE Filed m. 20, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 24, 1932 1,859,813

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KARL MAX WILHELM, OF BOCHUM, GERMANY- ILLUMINATED ADVERTISING DEVICE Application filed November 20, 1929, Serial No. 408,616, and in Germany November 24, 1928.

This invention relates to an illuminated the respective field of the drum or prism advertising device provided with a rotatory frame. drum having transparent walls bearing or The improved advertising device dealt with constituting the advertisements which are ilin the preceding paragraphs is intended chiefluminated from the interior of said drum. ly for shop windows and serves the twofold 55 The source of light is, however, according to purpose of showing the various advertisethis invention, arranged outside the drum so ments just present in it, and of illuminating that also the neighbourhood of the device can the goods or articles exposed to view in the re be, and is, illuminated. There are, for this spective window, that is to say, those goods or purpose, provided in the drum wall apertures articles which can be illuminated by the rays 60 through which the light emitted by the lamps oflight passing through the aperture in the can pass through the interior of the drum to lower part of the casing, as above mentioned. the opposite drum wall which bears an adver- The invention is illustrated diagrammatitisement or constitutes such a one. Suitably cally and by way of example on the accomarranged reflecting members collect the rays panying drawings on which 65 and conduct them in the direction to the eyes Figure l is a perspective representation of of the observers. The sectional shape of the an advertising device designed according to drum is preferably such that those walls of this invention, the rear half of the outer casthe drum which bear or constitute the advering and the righthand side of the drum or tisements form a trilateral prism having lonprism being left away in order to show the in- 7 gitudinal slots between its faces whereby the terior of the drum or prism; drum ortrilateral prism is turned into a Figure 2 is a front-view of the drum or kind of a six-sided prism, there being always prism, the sides thereof being shown in secone of said slot-s opposite one of the faces of tion;

the prism and the advertisement thereon be- Figure 3 is a transverse section through 75 mg illuminated by the lamps through the opth drum or prism, and through the front positely located slot. part of the casing, the other parts of the The drum or prism'is enclosed in a casing game b ing left away; which is closed on all sides, except its front Fi u i a, f m; i w of the upper part side where there is a suitably large opening f a h wi d w equipped with the im- 0 through which the illuminated advertisement proved adv ti i d i can be seen, and besides said opening another 1 Fi 5 i transverse tion through one is provided in the lower part of the rear of a m difi ti d the casing, this opening being intended for Fi 6 i an nd i w h i a Conventhe eXlh of y of hght which are not tional means for rotating the rotary body tended for the illumination of the advertiseor d ments, but for illuminating a certain part of R f i t Figs 1. 3, th d or i m the Space below h S consists of suitably shaped side walls 1 and The drum P 1S rota-ted lhtellhltthhtly 2 connected with one another by rods 3 which 40 so that every advertisement can be seen a cere so d i d th t th f id ways tain time wherea'fter another advertisement f transparent panes 4" 5 nd 6 so l at d pp in the m p h of gwith respect to one another as to form a sort The drum Prlsm Cohslsts} P y, of of a trilateral prism. Each pane may cona frame forming or having op n fields Which sist of a plurality of individual plates bear- 45 can be filled up with the transparent advering l tter or the like, as in Fig. 2. The tisements, and these latter may be composed panes r h w ver, separated from one anof individual letters or the like so that it is other by comparatively large longitudinal possible to change or vary the individual adl ts 7 8 and 9 through which rays of light vertisements also by exchanging a part of, or can be thrown into the interior of the drum all, the letters etc. that have been inserted into or prism, or more precisely, through that interior onto the inner face of the oppositely located advertisement, as shown in Fig. 3.

The side plates are provided with pinions 16 supported in bearings 17, in which the drum can be rotated, and it is rotated intermittently in such a manner that always one of the advertising panes is located in front of a suitably large opening 11 of a casing 10 enclosing the drum. The means for rotating the drum intermittently in this way may be of any suitable design, and the movements may be transmitted to the drum, for instance, by such members as 18, 19,20 and 21 which need not be described in detailin View oftheir obvious simplicity.

The drum is stopped after a part-rotation of 120 degrees, remains then stationary fora certain short period of time, and thereafter another part-rotation takes place, and so on.

Besides the opening ll-at the front of the casing 10, another opening .(notshown) is provided in thebottom of the casing at the rear thereof (as already mentioned in the introductory part of this specification), this opening serving for letting pass rays of light also down upon certain of the goods'or articles exposed to view in-the respective shop window. The light is produced, as usual, by electric incandescence lamps 12 arranged opposite that slot-which is just located at the rear (Fig. 2). Two reflecting-plates Band 14 deflect one half of the rays'through the rear slot of the drum or'prism onto the advertisement at the front, and-a third reflecting plate 15 deflects the other halfof the rays down into the shop window for the purpose a-stated.

Thereare cases'in which it is desiredor necessary to illuminate two advertisements which are located counter to oneaanother, as well assomething therebelow, for instance a freely disposedshow-case or adoor or whatever else it may be. A constructional form of the ClGVlCG answering these requirements is sh'ownin Fig. 5, in which-the casing 20 encloses two drums 16 and 17 which are designedin the samemanner as described'with respect to Figs. 1-3 and are :also turned in intervals, as already described. Between them are reflecting plates 18'and 19, and between these plates are the lamps 1-2. Be-

tween-the plates 19is a s'lot through" which 'the light can illuminate the space'thereblow and the object or objects present in that space If the space below the device need-not be illnminatedythe bottom ofthe casing may be completely closed.

Anadvertisin'g device of this kind can, for

instance, be advantageously disposed at a house at right angles to the outer wall thereof so as to extend transversely to the foot-way and be visible, therefore, from'both directions. It is also possible to design the drum insuch a manner that more than only one drum wall, 1. e. advertising wall, is visible;

this is particularly advantageous if the device is so designed that the axis of the drum stands, or the axes of the drums stand, vertically.

Figs. 2 and 6 show a conventional means for intermittently operating the rotary body or drum, consisting of adisc 25 which receives a uniform and continuous rotation by is mountedan arm.29, having a bent-portion 30, which has a contact pin 28 on theend thereof. As clearly indicated in Fig. 6, upon rotation of the disc 25, the pin 28 will enter one of the slots 27 of a fork and will be carried along until the pin'leaves the'slot and, upon the second revolution of the disc, the pin will carry along the next'fork by means of its slot and so on, thus providing'an intermittent operation of the drum, which is timed by the speed of the motor andthe disc 25, depending upon the desiredperiodic time limit for each transparent side.

I claim:

1. An illuminated advertising device, comprising, in combination, a rotatory hollow body, the circumferential 'suface of which consists of fiatand transparent sides adapted to show advertisements, longitudinal slots being left between said sides-and so located with respect tothemthat each of them lies counter to one-of said sides; illuminating means arranged outside said body at the rear thereof just behind the slot'there located at the time being, and means for-turning the said body.

2. An illuminated advertising'device, comprising, in combination, a rotatory hollow body, the circumferential surface of which consists of flat and transparent sides adapted to show advertisements, longitudinal slots being left between said sides and so located with respect to'them that each of them lies risin in combination a rotator 'hollow body resembling a trilateral prism and having longitudial slots between the'sides of the prism, each side being transparent and adapted to receive an advertisement, and each slot being located counter to one of said sides illuminatin -means arran ed outside the said prism at the rear thereof just behind the slot there located at the time being, and means for turning the said body.

4. An illuminated advertising device, comprising, in combination, a rotatory hollow body, the circumferential surface of which consists of flat and transparent sides adapted to show advertisements, longitudinal slots being left between said sides and so located with respect to them that each of them lies counter to one of said sides; illuminating means arranged outside said body at the rear thereof just behind the slot there located at the time being; reflectors so arranged relatively to said illuminating means that they deflect the rays of light through the neigh bouring slot and into and through the said hollow body onto the advertisement at the front thereof, and means for turning said body 5. An illuminated advertising device, comprising, in combination, two intermittently rotated hollow bodies, the circumferential surfaces of which consist of fiat and transparent sides adapted to receive advertisements, and which are arranged parallel to one another with a gap therebetween, each of said bodies having a longitudinal slot between two of said sides, said slots being so located with respect to the sides that each of them lies counter to them; and illuminating means arranged in said gap just between the slots there located at the time being.

6. An illuminated advertising device, comprising, in combination, a rotatory hollow body, the circumferential surface of which consists of flat and transparent sides adapted to show advertisements, longitudinal slot-s be ing left between said sides and so located with V res ect to them that each of them lies counter to one of said sides; illuminating means arranged outside said body at the rear thereof just behind the slot there located at the time being, and means for turning the said body in intervals.

7. An illuminated advertising device, com prising, in combination, a rotatory hollow body, the circumferential surface of which consists of flat and transparent sides adapted to show advertisements, longitudinal slots be ing left between said sides and so located with respect to them that each of them lies counter to one of said sides; illuminating means arranged outside said body at the rear thereof just behind the slot there located at the time being; a reflector so arranged as to be adapted to deflect a part of the rays of light downwardly, and means for turning the said body.

8. An illuminated advertising device, comprising, in combination, a rotatory hollow .body, the circumferential consists of flat and transparent sides adapted to show advertisements, longitudinal slots be ing left between said sides and so located surface of which I with respect to them that each of them lies counter to one of said sides; illuminating means arranged outside said body at the rear thereof just behind the slot there located at the time being, a casing enclosing the said drum and the illuminating means, and having at its front a window through which the front advertisement is visible and at the rear of its bottom an opening through which rays of light can pass downwardly, and means for turning the said body.

9. An illuminated advertising device, comprising, in combination, a rotatory hollow body, the sides of which are formed by frames adapted to receive transparent panes adapted to constitute in their entirety advertisements, said body having longitudinal slots between said frames, said slots being so located with respect to the frames that each of them lies counter to one of the said frames and the panes inserted thereinto; illuminating means arranged outside said body at the rear thereof just behind the slot there located at the time being, and means for turning the said body.

10. An illuminated advertising device, comprising, in combination, a. rotatory hollow body, the circumferential surface of which consists of transparent sides adapted to show advertisements and longitudinal slots remaining between said sides and so located with respect thereto that each of them lies counter to one of said sides; and illuminating means arranged outside of said body at the rear thereof behind the slot there located.

11. An illuminated advertising device, comprising a rotatory hollow body having spaced transparent sides adapted to show advertisements; and illuminating means arranged outside of said body and adapted to project the light rays through the spaces of the sides onto the sides, the transparent sides being so arranged that each will be provided with an oppositely-arranged space for the li ht.

12. An illuminated comprising a rotatory body having spaced sides adapted to show advertisments; and illuminating means arranged outside of said body and adapted to project the light rays through spaces between the sides onto the sides.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

KARL MAX WILHELM.

advertising device, 

